Meet our fantastic 1Berkshire intern, Haruka Watanabe (ๆธก่พบ ้ฅ้ฆ). She is a business administration student at Sลka University in Tokyo, Japan, and the latest member of our 1Berkshire team. Haruka grew up in Osaka, Japanโs second-largest city, and has spent most of her life living and going to school in this large city. This is her first time living in a rural area and her first time in the United States! Before she came to America she also did a semester abroad in Paris, France.
โHaruka is truly an incredible person,โ said Julia Dixon, 1Berkshireโs creative economy specialist, โto be willing to travel and work somewhere so far from home with no previous experience in that country is very brave.โ Harukaโs courage is evident in how wholeheartedly she has taken to working and living in the Berkshires. From sampling various local restaurants, to getting out in nature, she eagerly attacks every challenge presented to her and is always willing to try new things. She even hopes to hike Mount Greylock some day soon.
As often happens when visiting the Berkshires, Haruka is already smitten with the area. โI really love the combination of nature, arts, and culture in the Berkshires,โ said Haruka. In fact, she chose to come to the Berkshires because it was the best place to combine her love for business and art with her interest in nature. In Japan, there are few opportunities to intern in arts management, and Haruka considers herself very lucky to have the chance to come here and do what she loves.
โHaruka is an amazing asset for 1Berkshire,โ Julia said. โShe is smart, curious, and thorough, and itโs great to work with her.โ Since she began here in late May, Haruka has been an invaluable part of the Economic Development Team planning and coordinating a variety of entrepreneurial and creative economy events throughout the county.
Haruka came to us thanks to the Berkshire Hills Internship Program (B-HIP) and is just one of the hundreds of interns B-HIP has helped place every year since its inception in 2004. If your business is looking to add interns this is a great program to know about.
We here at 1Berkshire would like to welcome Haruka to the team and thank her again for all the hard work and dedication she has already displayed!